LETTERS: Increasing educational options for Las Vegas parents doesn’t hurt the public schools

Sunday’s commentary by Ruben Murillo regarding public schools and the “risky” Educational Savings Accounts was rife with generalities and lacking in facts. That supposedly nine out of 10 teachers oppose ESAs is no shock because vouchers threaten job security; however, if 10 percent of teachers view ESAs positively, that speaks volumes. Mr. Murillo, president of the Nevada State Education Association, maintains that vouchers are a threat to and a drain on education in other states. Facts please?

Mr. Murillo claims that private schools are inferior to public schools and vaguely references a University of Illinois study as support. He implies that private schools have lesser fiscal, academic and accountability standards. Really? Private schools have a profit motive. Private schools want satisfied parents. Private schools want their students and subsequent siblings enrolled in following years. Dissatisfied parents take their children elsewhere.

Regarding accountability, removing an ineffective teacher from a public school is nearly impossible thanks to teacher tenure laws. Accountability is non-existent as Nevada’s public schools rank near the bottom of our nation’s schools. When has anyone been fired for our failing schools?

Mr. Murillo disingenuously avers that parents should have the choice to send their children “to a strong public school.” Yes, parents should have choice, but the choice he advocates is not a choice. His “argument” is that public schools are strong and ESAs will weaken them. ESAs potentially offered options for students who do not thrive in the traditional classroom setting to succeed in different environments. This hardly poses a “threat” to public schools.

Mr. Murillo advocates focusing on the “good” programs passed during the 2015 legislative session, hoping in the course of time that education in Nevada improves. That 2015 Legislature missed a rare opportunity to revise teacher-tenure laws when Republicans held both chambers

Obviously, effective teachers are crucial in educating our children. The upcoming 2017 Democrat-controlled Legislature that is supported by the teachers’ union will do nothing regarding tenure and ESAs are doomed.